Daily news

Rocket Lab has postponed the
launch of its next mission in response to the COVID-19
situation.

In response to the evolving
COVID-19 situation, we have paused launch preparations
for our next mission to protect the health and safety of
Rocket Lab team members, our families, and the wider
community.

The mission was scheduled to lift
off from Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand on 30 March
UTC. Launch preparations have been paused, however,
following the New Zealand Government’s announcement on
23 March NZDT to implement the Level 4 COVID-19 response
which requires most businesses to close and instructs
people to stay at home. We commend the government for
taking this drastic but necessary step to limit the
spread of COVID-19.

We have the full support of our
customers in pausing operations and we are grateful for
their understanding in these challenging times. We are
working with the government, health officials, and our
customers to determine when launch operations can
resume. The launch vehicle and ground systems will
remain in a state of readiness for launch as the
evolving situation allows it. The majority of our team
is working from home with the exception of a few
essential personnel who are monitoring and maintaining
critical systems.

In recent years, we have placed an
increased emphasis on delivering responsive launch
capability for our customers, which means having launch
vehicles and pads ready for rapid call-up launch
capability. As a result of this approach, we’re
fortunate to have enough launch vehicles ready that we
can effectively manage a pause in production and still
have vehicles available for launch as soon as conditions
allow.

In the days, weeks, and months to
come, we’ll be following the advice of the government
and health authorities to protect our teams in the
United States and New Zealand.

Our deepest thanks go to the
medical professionals, scientists and researchers,
supermarket workers, and all those providing essential
services in these trying times. We are grateful for all
that you do.